Is everyone ready to move forward with 2019 like me? I hope you had a great 2018 — I know I’m definitely ready to move forward with 2019 because we had a pretty rough part of the year in 2018. Outside of my own running, I generally don’t write about personal matters here and I especially don’t use the names of anyone just to protect them. This year, however, things are a little more personal to me and they caused me to change everything that was happening in my life. This is a little bit of a “wrap up” post, but I’ll run through 2018 as quickly as I can:
In January, February, March, April and May, I rocked it! I was at the gym doing bootcamp, maintaining a 30 pound weight loss, running at least one official race per month (with 3 in May, one of which was local and two in my hometown).
As a Race Ambassador, I traveled up to Cleveland, Ohio for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon Series where I ran an 8k on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday, and it was AMAZING, as always.
I’m originally from Cleveland where June, July and August are basically “running season”. Here in Florida, June, July and August are pretty rough, so I just went to the air conditioned gym doing bootcamp didn’t do any outdoor running – it’s our “off season” anyway. Oh, I did participate in a July 4th Firecracker 5K because, well, how couldn’t I with such a great ensemble to wear!!
Then everything changed on August 7. Thanks to an emergency room visit, we learned “J” has cancer again. All kinds of medical appointments ensued, chemotherapy began, hospital trips began, and it was like I was transported to Cancerville in one quick second.
I did, however, manage to squeeze in a few random gym visits, and in October I was even able to run the Ohio State 4 Miler (virtually). YAY!!
In November, in between medical appointments and hospital trips, I was able to participate in the Myakka River Half Marathon Series, doing the 10K without much training, but as an ambassador and proud representative of this local race, there’s no way I would be missing it if I could help it. (Side note: If you live in Florida, this will definitely become your favorite race, so be sure to sign up in 2019 using my code “DEBI” to get a little discount!)
And what’s Thanksgiving without running a 5K too? I mean “J” wasn’t doing the big Thanksgiving dinner this year due to the ongoing medical situation, so there was no need to stay home and help set the table! My gym hosted a private 5K which was pretty fun and I’m glad I participated, because I could bring my running pup, Brodie to help try and socialize him a little more.
In December, I once again paid homage to my hometown — I was able to enjoy the Cleveland Christmas Story 5K by organizing a virtual run here in Florida! It was a blast and I even brought Ovaltine!
Which brings us to 2019….. I have a plan for the races I want to do, but all of that depends on the doctor’s direction on the next step toward “J” getting better. Rounds of chemo have been completed and surgery is slated for next week. After a reasonable healing period, more chemo will be prescribed and then we will re-evaluate where we stand with the diagnosis. All prayers are accepted for healing.
In the meantime, the great news is that I’ve been honored to once again be selected as a Race Ambassador for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon Series. I will be so I’ve set out a training plan and will begin sharing my training with all of you and getting ready for Cleveland in May!! Also, if any of you want to run with me, be sure to use my code DL2019 and you can save 10% on your registration!!
We are doing a “Biggest Loser” contest at work, which helped me empty the pantry. As “J” loses weight, I have been continually gaining as a result of stress and other poor planning on my part. This week I’m happy to say that I lost 4.4 pounds toward the goal of losing the nearly 20 pounds I’ve put back on since the diagnosis. I ran one two-miler with Brodie last week and one two-miler with him again yesterday. It was 44 degrees – yes, in SUNNY Florida!!!
Starting next week, I’ll be running much more and I’ll keep you up to date! I’ll also give you a list of my 2019 races so you can follow along…. spoiler alert: I’ll be in Cleveland TWICE this year – once in May as usual and once in July as part of a relay team!!!
It would be great if you would stay connected with me!! You can follow me on Twitter @DebiL1611, like me on Facebook at 2014 and Beyond, circle me on Google+, follow me on Tumblr, Instagram and Bloglovin’, subscribe on YouTube, or connect with me on LinkedIn and Pinterest.
Please make sure to visit my homepage and subscribe to my blog for more great posts on running, fitness and lifestyle topics as well as food, product, music and book reviews, and more!
